


three days (he'll be gone before then)

by CuriousToaster



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: How Do I Tag, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 14:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15950969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousToaster/pseuds/CuriousToaster
Summary: The ring feels like lead in his pocket.It's a simple black band, the letters 'T & J' carved in gold across the top. His heart is pounding, sweat beading at his forehead. Josh forces himself to breathe, to calm down."Three days." He tells himself. "Our anniversary is in three days. Don't lose it till then."





	three days (he'll be gone before then)

**Author's Note:**

> all mistakes are mine,, read the tag(s?)
> 
> ALSOOO!!!!  
> the lovely mutaboring translated my fic into Russian (русский)  
> this is the link:  
> https://ficbook.net/readfic/7790110

The ring feels like lead in his pocket.

It's a simple black band, the letters _'T & J' _carved in gold across the top.

His heart is pounding, sweat beading at his forehead. Josh forces himself to breathe, to calm down.

"Three days." He tells himself. "Our anniversary is in three days. Don't lose it till then."

\---

He comes home before Tyler and raids the kitchen drawers for tape. Josh hums, dropping to his stomach as he secures the ring under their dresser. He stands and dusts his front off just as Tyler comes through the door, huffing and puffing.

"They really need to get that elevator fixed, bro." He huffs, shucking his coat off and hanging it haphazardly on the coat rack. "My poor legs can't handle five flights of stairs twice a day, everyday."

"Gotta use your glutes." Josh jokes, readjusting Tyler's coat so the coat rack stops tipping.

He follows Tyler into the kitchen, stopping behind his boyfriend whose glaring a hole into the mostly empty fridge. "We need to go food shopping soon." He declares, turning and almost smacking into Josh. "Well hello there, handsome."

He laughs, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's skinny frame and tugging him closer. "Hello to you too."

"No endearing nickname?" Tyler pouted, faking offense as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'm so hurt, Joshie poo."

He nosed at his boyfriends neck, kissing up and down the tan skin gently as Tyler giggled. "I'm sorry." He mumbled. "Baby, darling, doll."

"Be silent, I'm ordering Chinese." Tyler brings the phone to his ear, burying his fingers on his free hand in Josh's highlighter locks.

Josh rests his forehead in the crook of Tyler's neck. "Sweetie, Ty-Guy, lovely life partner," He grins at Tyler's blush, kissing his adams apple gently. "Sugar pie honey bunch,"

Tyler shakes his head sharply, eyes narrowing as Josh sucks in a deep breath. "YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOUUUU."

Tyler hangs up, blush covering his entire face as Josh sings at the top of his lungs. "I CAN'T HELPA MY SELF," He spins the younger man, catching him by his lower back and dipping him. "I love you, and nobody else." He voice is barely a whisper, eyes boring into Tyler's.

He hears his boyfriends breath hitch, pianist fingers coming up to lay gently across his cheek. "I love you too."

\---

Tyler hums in contentment, setting his empty chow mein box on the coffee table and snuggling into Josh. They kiss, slow and lazy with Tyler on his back.

"Our anniversary is comin' up." Tyler mumbles, gazing up at Josh with pure love in his eyes. "I've got something special planned for us."

Josh's heart rate picks up and he swallows, wondering if Tyler can hear his heart pounding against his ribcage. "I do too."

\---

Josh finds a box for the ring after he gets off of work. It's simple oak, but when it's opened it plays a music box version of 'My Heart Will Go On'.

Josh thinks it's amazing.

He hopes Tyler does too.

\---

Josh wakes up before his alarm and smiling. "Tomorrow's the big day, baby." He mumbles softly, and Tyler huffs in his sleep, curling closer to Josh.

He gets up early, only after spending a handful of minutes gazing down at Tyler. He's brewing coffee when he feels Tyler's arms wrap around him, his head settling between his shoulder blades.

"It's raining." He mumbles, moving with Josh like a shadow as he turns in the kitchen to grab the creamer from the fridge. "It's gonna storm."

It's just barely 6 o' clock, but Tyler's right. The sky is dark and dumping buckets, and there's that familiar tension in the air; a lightning strike in the making. Josh turns around to face Tyler, breathe catching at his fuzzy bed head and pillow creased face.

"Good God, I am in love with you, Tyler Joseph." He says softly, kissing his nose quickly.

"As am I with you, Joshua Dun." He responds, and they sway gently to the music of pouring rain, wrapped up in each other, and if Josh is a little late for work, he blames it on the incoming storm.

\---

**hey im going to crash at brendons tonite,, roads are horrible and i cant see a foot in front of me legit passed 3 different cars in the ditch**

Josh huffs at the window, glaring down the rain before replying Tyler's text.

**Alright, drive safe baby and let me know when you get to Brendon's. I love you.**

The little check mark shows that Tyler read it, but the bubbles don't pop up. Josh figures it's for the better, since the weather only got worse throughout the day. He heats up a Dinty Moore stew and eats it watching a rerun of X - Files.

He falls alseep to the sound of thunder.

\---

He wakes up to his phone ringing. His back hurts, his neck has a knot in it, and he can't quite see yet, but he answers his phone successfully.

"Mello'?" He mumbles, standing up and popping his back loudly.

"Is this Joshua Dun?" A strong voice asks, muffled by the rain and-

Josh wakes up instantly as an ambulance siren cries in the background. "Y- yea, who is this?" He pulls the phone away and his stomach drops as Tyler's face pops up. "Why do you have my boyfriends phone?"

"There's been an accident."

Josh hits the floor knees first.

\---

He's not doing the speed limit, which in hindsight is stupid because it's 3 am and dumping buckets and he can hardly see the road but he _has_ to get to Tyler.

The road flares make him slow down, and there's multiple ambulances pulled over, along with a few cop cars, lights flashing. Josh's tires make a hideous screech and kick rain and loose asphalt, drawing the attention of a few police officers.

"Sir you can't be her-" He shoulders through them, unsure if his vision is blurry from the tears or the rain.

There's a family bundled up by their subaru, clutching an umbrella and all fine but shaken up. Tyler's car is fine, parked behind them with emergency lights flashing brightly, and he sighs in relief.

"Tyler," He shouts, turning to the officer closest to him. "Where is he?"

"Son, sit down." He's taller and stronger and older than Josh and he pushes his gently by the shoulder until he sits down in the mud. "He stopped to help some people with a flat tire. His emergency lights were on, but a car came up going too fast, went to pass his car and-" The officer stops, clears his throat and blinks. His eyes are sad when he looks down at Josh. "The car was going too fast to stop."

It doesn't click, doesn't make sense and he furrows his brows. "But where is he? I can pick him up, I- I've gotta see him." He tries to stand up but he's cold and chattering and his legs feel like jello. "Listen I've gotta-"

It clicks.

He hits the pavement screaming, fingers tangled in his hair as grief crashes into his body. It steals his breathe and leaves his voice cracking.

"HE'S NOT DEAD! HE'S NOT!" He struggles up, the police officer catching him by the arms and pulling him into his chest.

"He didn't feel anything. It was quick." Josh's voice cracks as he screams, ignoring the pitying looks from the other officers.

"HE'S NOT DEAD! I- TOMORROWS OUR ANNIVERSARY, HE CAN'T BE DEA-" His voice cracks as he screams again and again and again until his lungs send warnings to his brain and he heaves in a breath.

 _He's dead._ Josh thinks.

 _He's dead._ Josh blacks out.

\---

The funeral is small and quiet.

Josh promised himself he wouldn't cry, but as the priest finishes up his blessing and Tyler's casket gets lowered into a hole, down down down until it rests at the bottom, he loses it.

He gasps in a breath, drawing attention to himself and he wants to scream, wants to fight everybody looking at him. He covers his mouth and he feels Jordan wrap an arm around him.

He's tired of everybody's pity food and sad looks.

He's tired of the random family members that have showed up to pay their respects but didn't do a damn thing when Tyler needed help the most.

He's tired of sobbing until the early mornings and drowning his sorrow in vodka.

He's tired, and he wants Tyler.

\---

The headstone is simple but pretty, with a tiny ukulele and keyboard carved into the granite of either side of his name.

He watches Kelly from the corner of his eye, hand in hand with Chris. He wipes his eyes with his free hand, gazing down at his son's grave.

"I wanted to know," Josh asks, voice thick with emotion as he turns toward the elder Josephs. "Would you have approved, " He pauses to swallow, directing his attention to Chris. "Would I have had your blessing, if I had married him?"

Kelly burries her face in the crook of Chris' shoulder, sobs muffled but audible. Chris nods, tears leaving a shiny trail down his face.

He forces a smile, but it's more of a grimace as he digs the ring and its twin from his pocket. "I was gonna ask him on our anniversary." He slides it onto his finger, breath stuttering as he sighs. "I'd like to think he'd say yes."

"He would've." Kelly gasps out, wiping her eyes as she takes his free hand. "He loved you so much."

"I'd also like to think," He pauses for a moment, tilting his head up and squinting at the overcast sky. "That he still loves me."

He tucks the ring back into his dress coat, giving Kelly's hand a squeeze before letting it go. He takes his time walking back, wondering to himself what he was going to do.

The ring feels like lead in his pocket.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry :/
> 
> also this is my first joshler fic, yaaay major character death


End file.
